Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The Art of the Wedding Shower

Wedding season is fast approaching! The Church Ladies' friend Seraphic walked down the aisle last weekend, and she'll be in good company before the summer's over.

There is an art to throwing a classy wedding shower in today's terribly tacky world. The Church Ladies provide some guidance.

-There can be nice showers at restaurants. But what better place is there to celebrate the beginning of a new "household of faith" than At Home? Your event will be more relaxed and personal.

-There is a time and a place for a co-ed party. It's called your wedding reception.

-Consider celebrating a culture of life and inviting girls and women in different seasons of their lives. (NB: This shuts down shenanigans like you wouldn't believe.)

-The ban on wearing a hat in your own home is lifted for wedding showers. Consider having a garland or veil on hand for the bride, depending on her taste.

-Light instrumental music sets the tone. Try some Saint-Saens or Elgar, available from your public library.

-This is the time for delightfully dainty food. Chicken salad on croissants, little cookies, and pink lemonade make for an elegant soiree that's easy on the cook. Who can easily be our friend Trader Joe if you're pressed for time.

-If the bride is without local relatives, ask her if she needs help with anything, like addressing invitations or packaging wedding favors.

-Sometimes wedding showers bring together women from different areas of the bride's life. Casual games can help people relax. A tray memory game can be fun: place wedding related items on a tray, give the guests a minute to look at, then cover the tray and test their powers of recall! From a more challenging activity, prepare a list of scripture verses pertaining to love and marriage, and see who can identify the most (an ecumenical party game, as the Protestants will do better). Or generate a list of saints connected to marriage and the family, such as Catherine, Gianna, Margaret, and Monica, and match them with their patronage.

-Thoughtful home-made gifts might include an apron, potholders, or a tea-cosy. Another favorite theme is "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue." A gift should fall in one of those categories, like an antique hankie, a new cake pan, or a blue chaplet. Another much appreciated gift could be a gathering of household essentials around a theme, like pantry basics, spices, stationery, or cleaning necessities.

-The bride will get enough advice. Have everyone bring a favorite recipe for her instead. A nice story about the recipe is sweet too, such as "this was my husband's favorite casserole in our newlywed days." Cooking disasters are always amusing as well.

-Save the bows in a bouquet for the wedding rehearsal. Or, if you have some artificial flowers and ribbon looking for a new home, have each person pick one, and write a poem with their well wishes tying into the flower's symbolism, and gather whole creation together on a paper plate.

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"Necessary emphasis should be placed on the 'genius of women,' not only by considering great and famous women of the past or present, but also those ordinary women who reveal the gift of their womanhood by placing themselves at the service of others in their everyday lives. For in giving themselves to others each day women fulfill their deepest vocation." --LETTER OF POPE JOHN PAUL II TO WOMEN, 29 June 1995